Method and system for storing and retrieving wide-area motion imagery frames as objects on an object storage device

ABSTRACT

A method, implemented by a computer system, and a system of organizing data of a wide area motion imagery frame and a method and a system of retrieving objects that match a user defined AOI from an image in a WAMI frame in a WAMI collection are described. The method of organizing includes dividing, by the computer system, an image of a WAMI frame into a plurality of tiles, each tile in the plurality of tiles comprising a plurality of pixels and having a pixel width and a pixel height; storing, by the computer system, the plurality of tiles as objects in an OSD, each object having an object identifier (OID); collecting, by the computer system, object identifiers (OIDs) of the objects; and storing, by the computer system, the OIDs in the OSD.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/774,290, filed Feb. 22, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/692,498 filed on Aug. 23, 2012, theentire content of both applications are incorporated herein by referencein their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention pertains to image data management and inparticular to a method of organizing and storing imagery and metadatafrom a collection of Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI) frames into anObject Storage Device (OSD) and a method of retrieving tile objects thatintersect with an Area of Interest (AOI) from a WAMI frame within acollection of WAMI frames that are stored on an OSD.

2. Discussion of Related Art

An image generally contains a plurality of pixels (e.g., several hundredmegapixels) and each pixel has one, two or more bands. Each band has acertain color depth or bit depth. For example, an RGB color-based imagehas 3 bands, the red band (R), the green band (G) and the blue band (B).Each of the R, G and B bands can have a depth of 8 bits or more.

An image sensor can be used to capture a series of images, each imagehaving several hundred megapixels. The images may be captured insequence, for example at a reasonably constant frequency or rate. Eachimage (i.e., each still image) in the sequence or series of images mayhave one or more distinct bands and may cover any part of theelectromagnetic spectrum that can be captured by the image sensor. Theimage sensor may be a single sensor or a combination of a matrix ofmultiple sensors arranged to generate a single image. Therefore, theseries of relatively large images captured by an image sensor over acertain period of time at a near constant capture rate are considered tobe large format motion imagery or WAMI.

An image detector may be comprised of multiple image sensors arranged insome configuration, such as, for example, a matrix. Each image sensor inthe multiple image sensors can produce a separate image at asubstantially same instant in time. Thus, for an instant in time, anotionally single region captured by such a sensor can include severalimages captured by the multiple sensors. These several images can becombined to generate a single large mosaic image of the area covered byall the sensors for that instant in time. These several images can alsobe considered to be a large format motion imagery frame or a WAMI frame.

The image output by the image sensor or detector may be ortho-rectifiedor ground corrected to generate a map, which is also an image. Theoriginal or first image (i.e., WAMI frame) captured and output by theimage sensor may be optionally converted into a sequence ofprogressively smaller images. Each subsequent image in the sequence issmaller than the previous image in the sequence. The progressivelysmaller images are referred to as R-sets, reduced resolution datasets(RRDs). An ortho-rectified WAMI frame comprises the original or firstimage (WAMI frame) and a sequence of zero or more R-set images.

The term ortho-rectified, in the present context, may be usedinterchangeably with the terms geo-rectified, planar-rectified andgeo-corrected. The term ortho-rectified, in the present context, refersto an image that allows a form of per-pixel spatial reference (e.g.,geospatial reference). An ortho-rectified image is an image that iscorrected so that the scale in the image is uniform such that distancesshown are uniform and can be measured like a map. Orthorectification isthe process of removing the effects of image perspective (e.g., tilt)and relief effects for the purpose of creating a planimetrically correctimage. The resultant orthorectified image has a constant scale whereinfeatures are represented in their “true” positions.

The ortho-rectified image maybe stored in a known or proprietary fileformat. The format may contain a header which is a computer datastructure that describes various parameters of the image, as well as mayhold additional metadata about the image, for example, time ofacquisition, information about the capturing device, geographicreference data, access rights, and copyright information, etc.

An object storage device (OSD) is a conventional computer data storagemethod wherein a collection of bytes, referred to as data, is stored onthe OSD as objects. Each object is assigned a globally unique ObjectIdentifier (OID). An OSD is different from a Traditional File Systemthat stores data as files in a hierarchy of folders on a block-basedstorage device.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to provide a method, implementedby a computer system, and a system of organizing data of a wide areamotion imagery frame. The method includes dividing, by the computersystem, an image of a WAMI frame into a plurality of tiles, each tile inthe plurality of tiles comprising a plurality of pixels and having apixel width and a pixel height; storing, by the computer system, theplurality of tiles as objects in an OSD, each object having an objectidentifier (OID); collecting, by the computer system, object identifiers(OIDs) of the objects; and storing, by the computer system, the OIDs inthe OSD.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method,implemented by a computer system, and a system of retrieving objectsthat match a user defined area of interest (AOI) from an image in a WAMIframe in a WAMI collection, the image having one or more tiles, and theobject being stored in a reference file associated with the WAMIcollection containing the WAMI frame. The method includes receiving, bythe computer system, a request for the AOI, the AOI being wholly locatedin the image, and the AOI having one or more tiles, the requestincluding an origin and a pixel width and a pixel height of the AOI;computing, by the computer system, a top row and a left column number ofa tile that contains a top-left corner of the AOI and a bottom row and aright column number of a tile that contains a bottom-right corner of theAOI; and computing, by the computer system, for each column from theleft column to the right column and for each row from the top row to thebottom row, a tile index of each tile in the one or more tiles of theAOI, in a tile locator list to obtain an OID corresponding to each tile.The method further includes sending, by the computer system, a requestto an OSD containing a plurality of objects tiles of the WAMI frame toretrieve an object associated with each of the one or more tiles of theAOI.

A further aspect of an embodiment of the present invention is to providea system of organizing data of a wide area motion imagery frame. Thesystem includes a processor configured to: divide an image of a widearea motion imagery (WAMI) frame into a plurality of tiles, each tile inthe plurality of tiles comprising a plurality of pixels and having apixel width and a pixel height; store the plurality of tiles as objectsin an object storage device (OSD), each object having an objectidentifier (OID); collect object identifiers (OIDs) of the objects; andstore the OIDs in the object storage device (OSD).

Another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide asystem of retrieving objects that match a user defined area of interest(AOI) from an image in a WAMI frame in a WAMI collection, the imagehaving one or more tiles, and the object being stored in a referencefile associated with the WAMI collection containing the WAMI frame. Thesystem includes a processor configured to: receive a request for theAOI, wherein the AOI is wholly located in either the image, and the AOIhaving one or more tiles, the request including an origin and a pixelwidth and a pixel height of the AOI; compute a top row and a left columnnumber of a tile that contains a top-left corner of the AOI and a bottomrow and a right column number of a tile that contains a bottom-rightcorner of the AOI; compute for each column from the left column to theright column and for each row from the top row to the bottom row, a tileindex of each tile in the one or more tiles of the AOI, in a tilelocator list to obtain an object identifier (OID) corresponding to eachtile; send a request to an object storage device (OSD) containing aplurality of objects tiles of the WAMI frame to retrieve an objectassociated with each of the one or more tiles of the AOI; and output animage header of the image that contains the requested AOI and tiles fromthe image that contains the requested AOI.

Although the various steps of the method are described in the aboveparagraphs as occurring in a certain order, the present application isnot bound by the order in which the various steps occur. In fact, inalternative embodiments, the various steps can be executed in an orderdifferent from the order described above or otherwise herein.

These and other objects, features, and characteristics of the presentinvention, as well as the methods of operation and functions of therelated elements of structure and the combination of parts and economiesof manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description and the appended claims with reference to theaccompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification,wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in thevarious figures. In one embodiment of the invention, the structuralcomponents illustrated herein are drawn to scale. It is to be expresslyunderstood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration and description only and are not intended as a definitionof the limits of the invention. As used in the specification and in theclaims, the singular form of “a”, “an”, and “the” include pluralreferents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 depicts an ortho-rectified WAMI collection as a sequence ofortho-rectified WAMI frames acquired over a contiguous period in time,at a near constant acquisition rate;

FIG. 2 depicts the original ortho-rectified WAMI image of the WAMIframes;

FIG. 3 illustrates the first image or the original ortho-rectified WAMIimage and progressively smaller optional user-defined R-set images;

FIG. 4 depicts an example of an ortho-rectified WAMI frame including theortho-rectified original image also referred to as the first image and asequence of three additional R-sets;

FIG. 5 shows a single first image is divided into a set of tiles of aknown tile pixel width T_(w) and tile pixel height T_(h);

FIG. 6 shows an example first image where the first image pixel widthand the first image pixel height are not an integer multiple of T_(w)and T_(h);

FIG. 7 shows an example of a first image where the first image pixelwidth and pixel height are not an integer multiple of T_(w) and T_(h)and where the first image is not padded to align its pixel width andpixel height to that of a tile;

FIG. 8 shows an example of a first image having a series of tiles and animage header, the Native Image Header that is part of the data fileformat of the first image, and optionally a Custom Image Header notincluded in the Native Image Header;

FIG. 9 depicts the first image and its associated R-sets, each R-setimage having tiles that are of the same tile pixel width and pixelheight as the first image;

FIG. 10 depicts the first image and its associated R-sets, each R-setimage also has a Hybrid Image Header that is similar to the Hybrid ImageHeader of the first image;

FIG. 11 depicts an OSD including one or more objects;

FIG. 12 depicts an object on an OSD including an OID, data that isstored in the object, and optional metadata that provides complimentaryinformation regarding the data;

FIG. 13 shows basic operations that can be performed on an object withinan OSD using the HTTP protocol or an application program interface (API)including the operation “delete”, “put”, “get”;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the method to store a single WAMIframe including the first image and associated R-sets on an OSD,according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a first step in the method of storing aWAMI frame as an object, whereby tiles from the first image and allassociated R-sets are stored as objects on the OSD, according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 depicts a hybrid image header of a WAMI frame, according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is diagram illustrating a second step of in the method ofstoring a WAMI frame as an object, whereby each hybrid image header isstored as a separate object on the OSD, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a third step in the method of storinga WAMI frame as an object, whereby a reference record is generated incomputer memory, the reference record comprising a list of OIDs ofhybrid image headers of the first image and each associated R-set of theWAMI frame, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a fourth step in the method of storinga WAMI frame as an object, whereby a reference record is written toeither a reference file on a traditional file system or to a database,according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a fifth step in the method of storinga WAMI frame as an object, whereby all reference records correspondingto the each WAMI frame from a single ortho-rectified WAMI collection areeither stored sequentially within a reference file on a traditional filesystem or in a database, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a sixth step in the method of storinga WAMI frame as an object, whereby multiple reference files exist eitheron a traditional file system or in a database, each reference filecorresponding to a one WAMI Collection, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 22 illustrates a process through which an application may requestan area of interest (AOI) from either the first image or any one of theassociated R-sets, from an ortho-rectified WAMI frame that belongs to aWAMI collection, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23A is a first part of a flowchart of the method to optimallyaccess tiles and metadata corresponding to an AOI from either the firstimage or any one of the associated R-sets, from an ortho-rectified WAMIframe that belongs to a WAMI collection, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 23B is a second part of the flowchart of the method to optimallyaccess tiles and metadata corresponding to an AOI from either the firstimage or any one of the associated R-sets, from an ortho-rectified WAMIframe that belongs to a WAMI collection, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 23C is a third part of the flowchart of the method to optimallyaccess tiles and metadata corresponding to an AOI from either the firstimage or any one of the associated R-sets, from an ortho-rectified WAMIframe that belongs to a WAMI collection, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 24A is a schematic diagram representing an example of a pluralityof images captured by a multi-sensor image capture system, each of theplurality of images are captured at substantially the same time, theplurality of images representing, in totality, a single large image;

FIG. 24B is a schematic diagram representing an example of amulti-sensor image capture system capturing more than one image, each atsubstantially the same time; and

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram representing a computer system forimplementing the methods, for example embodied as program products,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 depicts an ortho-rectified WAMI collection as a sequence ofortho-rectified WAMI frames acquired over a contiguous period in time,at a near constant acquisition rate. Ortho-rectified WAMI includes asequence of WAMI frames captured over time. A Collection ofOrtho-rectified WAMI frames (WAMI collection) is defined as a set of oneor more frames that are temporally sequential and have beenortho-rectified after being captured. Each ortho-rectified WAMI frame isrepresented digitally by one or more ortho-rectified images.

The first image is the original image as captured by the WAMI sensor andortho-rectified. FIG. 2 depicts the original ortho-rectified WAMI imageof the WAMI frames or the first image. To each first image can beassociated zero, one, two or more images of progressively smallerdimensions than the first image that are referred to herein as reducedresolution datasets or R-sets. An R-set has a smaller pixel width andpixel height than the first image but contains the full extent of thecontents of the first image. An R-set is effectively a zoomed-outversion of the first image. Creation of R-sets is optional. However, theR-sets may be recommended for optimal run-time performance, for example,when zooming in or out for image visualization. In the followingparagraphs, as a notation, R₀ refers to the first image, R₁ refers tothe first R-set or the second image, R₂ refers to the second R-set orthe third image, and so on until the N^(th) R-set R_(n). R₁ is smallerin pixel dimensions than R₀, R₂ is smaller in pixel dimensions than R₁and R_(N) is smaller in pixel dimensions than R_(N-1). There are NR-sets and a total of N+1 images representing one frame. Anortho-rectified WAMI frame has one or more images where the first imageis the original image and subsequent images are R-sets derived from thefirst image.

FIG. 3 illustrates the first image or the original ortho-rectified WAMIimage and progressively smaller optional user-defined R-set images. Inthis case, the R-set contains two images R₁ and R₂, the image R₀corresponding to the first image. However, as stated above, any numberR-set images may be used. The R-set images are can be optional in whichcase the number of R-set images is zero.

FIG. 4 depicts an example of an ortho-rectified WAMI frame including theortho-rectified original image also referred to as the first image and asequence of three additional R-sets. This example image is provided byPV Labs, Inc. There are a total of four images. The original first imageR₀, and the R-set images including R₁, R₂ and R₃. R₁ is substantiallydimensionally smaller than the first image, R₂ is substantiallydimensionally smaller than R₁, and R₃ is substantially dimensionallysmaller than R₂.

The first image R₀ has a known pixel width and height. Each pixel in thefirst image has a fixed number of bands, and bit depth per band. Eachpixel band has a data type, for example, unsigned 8-bit, signed,unsigned, or floating point 16-bit, 32-bit or 64-bit. The first imagemay have additional metadata such as, for example, date and time ofacquisition, geospatial reference, security, platform and sensor data,etc.

The first image is sub-divided into a set of tiles. FIG. 5 shows asingle first image is divided into a set or a matrix of tiles of a knownor fixed tile pixel width T_(w) and tile pixel height T_(h). A tile is arectangular subset of the first image comprising of a plurality ofpixels. A tile has a known pixel width and pixel height. For a givenimage, dimensions of a tile in the image are of a fixed pixel width andheight that are less than or equal to the pixel width and pixel heightof the first image. Each tile is organized either band-interleaved bypixel (BIP) by storing together bytes for all bands for a given pixel inthe plurality of pixels of the tile, or band-sequential (BSQ), bystoring all pixels in the tile for a first band together followed bystoring all pixels in the tile for a second band together.

A set of equal size tiles wholly contain the first image. If the pixelwidth and pixel height of a tile are not integer multiples of the pixelwidth and pixel height of the first image, the first image is padded.FIG. 6 shows an example first image where the first image pixel widthand the first image pixel height are not an integer multiple of thepixel width T_(w) and an integer multiple of the pixel height T_(h) of atile. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the first image is padded by thedata laying outside the boundary (shown in bold) of the first image.

If the first image cannot be padded, the tiles along the right andbottom edge of the image may have a different tile pixel widths and tilepixel heights. FIG. 7 shows an example of the first image where thefirst image pixel width and pixel height are not an integer multiple ofT_(w) and T_(h) and where the first image is not padded to align itspixel width and pixel height to that of a tile. In this case, additionalmetadata may be needed to specify the tile pixel width and tile pixelheight of all tiles to the right of the image (the dotted area having awidth T_(w)′), as well as the tile pixel width and tile pixel height ofall tiles at the bottom of the image (the dotted area having the heightT_(h)′). The image shown in FIG. 7 has edge tiles with different pixeldimensions than the rest of the tiles in the image.

The first image may be stored in computer memory or on a storage deviceas an uncompressed or compressed stream of bytes. A stored image can usea known file format layout, including, but not limited to, GeoTIFF,NITF. A compressed first image can use a known compression methodincluding, but not limited to, JPEG2000, JPEG XR. If the first image iscompressed and tiled, each tile is compressed separately and itslocation in the compressed image byte stream and its size are stored ina list, herein referenced as the Tile Locator List (TLL). For example,in the JPEG2000 specification, in a JP2 file format, a TLL isrepresented by a Tile Length Marker (TLM) list. There is a directarithmetic mapping between a tile's column and row number within theimage and the corresponding entry in a TLL. FIG. 8 shows an example of afirst image having a series of tiles and an image header, the NativeImage Header that is part of the data file format of the first image,and optionally a Custom Image Header not included in the Native ImageHeader. The Native Image Header includes the TTL (e.g., JP2 file formathas TM list). The Custom Image Header includes image information, tileinformation (e.g., TLL) such as tile 1 offset and size, tile 2 offsetand size, . . . , tile T offset and size. A Hybrid Image Header can beused if Native Image Header lacks any information from Custom imageheader. The Custom Image Header can be added to the Native Image Headerto define a Hybrid Image Header. Segregating both headers, Native ImageHeader and Custom Image Header, from each other may permit source imagereconstruction.

If the image is uncompressed and tiled, and if tile dimensions are thesame, each tile is of a known and fixed size in bytes, and its locationin the uncompressed image byte stream can be computed. A TLL in thiscase is not necessary. If tile dimensions are different, a TLL may beneeded.

FIG. 9 depicts the first image and its associated R-sets (e.g., R₁, R₂),each R-set image having tiles that are of the same tile pixel width andpixel height as the first image R₀. The R-sets R₁ and R₂ are tiled tothe same tile width and height as the first image R₀. The pixeldimensions of a tile for each R-set image are the same as the firstimage. There are fewer tiles in each subsequent R-set.

FIG. 10 depicts the first image and associated R-sets. Each R-set imagealso has a Hybrid Image Header that is similar to the Hybrid ImageHeader of the first image. The storage layout of each R-set image is thesame as the first image. The first image has an image header including aTLL. The image header can be a Native Image Header, a Custom ImageHeader or a combination of both in a Hybrid Image Header. Similarly, theR-set image R₁ and the R-set image R₂ can be provided with a similarimage header as the image header of the first image. Although, two R-setimages are depicted in FIG. 10, any number of R-set images can be used.It is recommended that when an R-set fits within a tile, no furtherR-sets be generated. However, this is at the discretion of the creatorof R-sets.

FIG. 11 is a schematic representation of an OSD. An Object-based StorageSolution or OSD is a device that stores a collection of bytes of digitaldata as Objects.

FIG. 12 depicts the structure of an object on an OSD. An Object is acollection of bytes of the data to be stored and associated optionalmetadata. Each object is assigned a unique OID. A single object may beused to hold a collection of multiple objects. Commercial Object-basedStorage Solutions (OSDs) at least provide a simple interface to supportthe ability to put, get, and delete Objects. OSDs may also supportadditional capability to get, put and edit metadata into an object, readpartial objects, or replicate objects. These interfaces are oftenprovided through a published HTTP protocol or a published API.

FIG. 13 shows basic operations that can be performed on an object withinan OSD using the HTTP protocol or an application program interface (API)including the operation “delete”, “put”, “get”. An OSD may support theability to read part of an object. An OSD may support the ability tostore many objects into one object providing hierarchical storagecapability. The operation “Put” stores user-defined data into an objecton an OSD and returns an OID for requesting the same object again. Theoperation “Get” retrieves object data associated with a supplied OID.The operation “Delete” removes the data associated with a supplied OIDfrom the OSD. Examples of OSDs include Amazon S3, DDN WOS™, and Dell™ DXObject Storage Platforms.

In contrast to an OSD, a Traditional File System (TFS) presents a fileand folder based abstraction layer on a block storage device. Theinteraction with a Traditional File System uses implementations of thePOSIX standard or analogous methods. Examples of Traditional FileSystems include FAT, EXT2, EXT3, EXT4, XFS, CXFS, StorNext®, WAFL®,OneFS®, Lustre®, Gluster® and NTFS.

In the following paragraphs, a method for storing and retrievingortho-rectified WAMI frames as Objects on an OSD is described. In oneembodiment, the method allows for the efficient storage of anortho-rectified WAMI frame. In one embodiment, the method optimizes thestorage of the ortho-rectified WAMI frame for the retrieval of anyviewport or area of interest from any WAMI frame.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a workflow of the method to store asingle WAMI frame including the first image and associated R-sets on anOSD, according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14provides the workflow of the method as a sequence of six main steps. Inthe following description, one or more WAMI Collections are used. EachWAMI Collection includes one or more temporally sequential WAMI frames.Each WAMI frame comprises an ortho-rectified original image or firstimage and a sequence of optional progressively smaller R-set images.

In one embodiment, each image, be it the first image or any one of theR-set images, is divided into a matrix of one or more tiles. Each tilehas a known pixel width and a known pixel height. Each image (the firstimage or any one of the R-set images) also has an image header. Theimage header includes the original (native) header that may have beendelivered as part of the original image file format and an optionalcustom header that includes TLL and any additional metadata that needsstoring with the WAMI frame. The tile pixel dimensions are part of theimage header.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a first step in the method of storing aWAMI frame as an object, whereby tiles from the first image and tilesfrom all associated R-sets are stored as objects on the OSD, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the firsttile of the first image of the first WAMI frame is stored as an Objecton an OSD. All tiles of the first image of the first WAMI frame arestored as distinct Objects (first objects) on an OSD. The OIDs of allObjects (first objects) including tiles of the first image are collectedand stored in the first image header. In addition, the first tile of thefirst R-set of the first WAMI frame is stored as an Object on an OSD.All tiles of the first R-set of the first WAMI frame are stored asdistinct Objects (second objects) on an OSD. The OIDs of all Objects(second object) including tiles of the first R-set are collected andstored in the first R-set's image header. All tiles of all R-sets of thefirst WAMI frame are stored as distinct Objects (second objects) on anOSD. The OIDs of all Objects (second objects) including tiles of eachR-set are collected and stored in the corresponding R-set's imageheader.

FIG. 16 depicts a hybrid image header of a WAMI frame, according to anembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the first imageheader includes the native image header of the original ortho-rectifiedWAMI image and a custom image header comprising of additional firstimage metadata, tile dimensions, and a TLL. The TLL comprises of a listof OIDs of all tiles in the first image. Each R-set also includes animage header that is similar to the first image header. The custom imageheader of each R-set has additional R-set metadata, tile dimensions, anda TLL. The TLL includes a list of OIDs of all tiles in the correspondingR-set.

In one embodiment, the native and custom image headers are segregated.An accurate reassembly of the original first image can be performed byretrieving all objects for the first image, retrieving the native imageheader and merging the objects and native image header to reconstitutethe original image as it was received.

There is a direct mathematical mapping between an entry in the TLL andthe row and column number of the tile in the first image. Each tile ineither the first image or an R-set has a row number and a column number.For a given first image or R-set, C_(max) is the maximum number ofcolumns and R_(max) is the maximum number of rows of tiles. For any tileT_(ij) at column C_(i) and row R_(j), within the given range of tiles,the corresponding entry index in the TLL can be computed. If TLL OIDsfor tiles are stored in row major order in a TLL, index I in a TLL forany tile T_(ij) is computed as follows I=C_(i)+R_(j)×R_(max). If TLLOIDs for tiles are stored in column major order in a TLL, the index I ina TLL for any tile T_(ij) is computed as follows I=C_(i)×C_(max)+R_(j).This computation is summarized in FIG. 23C.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a second step of the method of storinga WAMI frame as an object, whereby each hybrid image header is stored asa separate object on the OSD, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In one embodiment, the image header of the first image of thefirst WAMI frame is stored as an Object (first header object) on the OSD(represented schematically as a larger size circle). The image header ofthe first R-set of the first WAMI frame is stored as an Object on theOSD (represented schematically as a medium size circle). The imageheader of the second R-set of the first WAMI frame is also stored as anobject on the OSD (represented schematically as a smaller size circle).Image headers (second header objects) for all R-sets of the first WAMIframe are also stored as distinct Objects on the OSD.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a third step in the method of storinga WAMI frame as an object, whereby a reference record is generated incomputer memory, the reference record including a list of OIDs of hybridimage headers of the first image and each associated R-set of the WAMIframe, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The OID ofthe first image header or image header object (represented schematicallyas a larger size circle) and the OIDs of image headers or image headerobjects of respective R-sets (represented schematically as a medium sizecircle and smaller size circle) for the first WAMI frame are collectedand stored into a first Reference-Record.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a fourth step in the method of storinga WAMI frame as an object, whereby a reference-record is written toeither a reference-file on a traditional file system or to a database,according to an embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment,the reference-record is saved into one reference-file on a traditionalfile system as one fixed size record. This reference-record representsan indirect reference to one ortho-rectified WAMI frame on an OSD.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a fifth step in the method of storinga WAMI frame as an object, whereby all reference-records correspondingto the each WAMI frame from a single ortho-rectified WAMI collection areeither stored sequentially within a reference-file on a traditional filesystem or in a database, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In one embodiment, the objects for the first image and R-setsof all ortho-rectified WAMI frames are stored in a similar manner.Reference-records for all ortho-rectified WAMI frames from one WAMICollection are stored into one reference-file on a traditional filesystem or into a database. Specifically, the storing of the objectidentifier of the first header object and the storing the one or moreobject identifiers of the one or more second header objects in areference record is repeated for each of a plurality of wide area motionimagery (WAMI) frames (Frame 1, Frame 2, . . . , Frame N), each WAMIframe (Frame 1, Frame 2, . . . , Frame N) having its own first image andits own one or more reduced resolution datasets to obtain a plurality ofreference records (Record 1, Record 2, . . . , Record N). Each record(Record 1, Record 2, . . . , Record N) is associated with acorresponding WAMI frame (Frame 1, Frame 2, . . . , Frame N).

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a sixth step in the method of storinga WAMI frame as an object, whereby multiple reference-files exist eitheron a traditional file system or in a database, each reference-filecorresponding to a one WAMI Collection, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention. In one embodiment, when there are multiple WAMICollections, each WAMI Collection is stored in a similar fashion. EachWAMI Collection has a corresponding Reference-File on a traditional filesystem or a corresponding set of Reference-Records in a database.Specifically, in one embodiment the method includes repeating writingthe plurality of reference records (Record 1, Record 2, . . . , RecordN) into a reference file for each of a plurality WAMI collections (WAMICollection 1, WAMI Collection 2, . . . , WAMI Collection M), each WAMIcollection having a plurality of WAMI frames (Frame 1, Frame 2, . . . ,Frame N), to obtain a plurality of reference files (Reference File 1,Reference File 2, . . . , Reference File M), each reference file(Reference File 1, Reference File 2, . . . , Reference File M) beingassociated with a corresponding WAMI collection (WAMI Collection 1, WAMICollection 2, . . . , WAMI Collection M). The plurality of referencefiles (Reference File 1, Reference File 2, . . . , Reference File M) arethen stored in a traditional file system or a database.

FIG. 22 illustrates a process through which an application may requestan area of interest (AOI) from either the first image or any one of theassociated R-sets, from an ortho-rectified WAMI frame that belongs to aWAMI collection, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Inone embodiment, the Area of Interest (AOI) or Viewport is wholly locatedwithin the first image (R₀) or R-set (R₁ to R_(N)) from an existing WAMIframe (F) from an existing WAMI Collection (C). The AOI itself is inpixel space. However, a user may request to read the AOI in anothercoordinate reference system (e.g., metric system). In anotherembodiment, a user may also request an AOI that may partially contain aportion of the first image or R-set (i.e., the AOI is partially insidethe first image or R-set). Using well-known techniques in projection andclipping, the AOI request gets resolved into a bounding box that has atop left corner (X₀, Y₀) and a pixel width W_(a) and pixel height H_(a)that is wholly contained within the requested first image or R-set. If asoftware system implements a method to deliver the image header for therequested first image or R-set and tiles that intersect with the AOIfrom the requested first image or R-set, the software system canoptimally satisfy an AOI request from any WAMI frame from any WAMIcollection.

FIGS. 23A-23C are flowcharts of sub-procedures of a method for accessingtiles that contain a requested AOI (X₀, Y₀, W_(a), H_(a)) from a firstimage or R-set (R′) of a WAMI frame (F), of a WAMI Collection (C). FIG.23A is a first part of a flowchart of the method to optimally accesstiles and metadata corresponding to an AOI from either the first imageor any one of the associated R-sets, from an ortho-rectified WAMI framethat belongs to a WAMI collection, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 23B is a second part of the flowchart of themethod to optimally access tiles and metadata corresponding to an AOIfrom either the first image or any one of the associated R-sets, from anortho-rectified WAMI frame that belongs to a WAMI collection, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 23C is a third part ofthe flowchart of the method to optimally access tiles and metadatacorresponding to an AOI from either the first image or any one of theassociated R-sets, from an ortho-rectified WAMI frame that belongs to aWAMI collection, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Turning to FIG. 23A, the method begins at S100. The method includesrequesting the AOI, at S111. The AOI with parameters (X₀, Y₀, W_(a),H_(a)) is located either in a first image or in any one of theassociated R-set images (R′) of a WAMI frame (F) of a WAMI CollectionReference File (C). The method includes opening a Reference-Filecorresponding to WAMI Collection C, at S112. Each Reference Recordstored within the Reference-File that corresponds to WAMI collection Chas a size of S bytes. The method includes computing a location oroffset of the Reference Record within the Reference File for the WAMIframe F as F×S, at S114. The method further includes reading theReference Record of size S from the Reference File at offset F×S for therequested WAMI frame F, at S115. The Reference Record has a list of OIDsfor image headers for the first image and all R-sets for WAMI frame F.The method includes locating the OID of the image header of the image R′(corresponding to either the first image R0 or any one of the R-setimages) containing the requested AOI, at S117 using the Reference RecordOID list 118. The method further includes sending a “Get” request to theOSD, at S119, to retrieve the Object 120 for the desired image header ofimage R′.

Turning to FIG. 23B, the method continues by computing the row andcolumn number for the tile containing the top-left corner (C_(tl),R_(tl)) and bottom right corner (C_(br), R_(br)) (see, FIG. 22) of theAOI, at S123. The computing is performed using the sub-procedure “B”,shown in FIG. 23C.

The method includes iterating, at S124, for each tile (C_(i), R_(j))ranging from (C_(tl), R_(tl)) to (C_(br), R_(br)), the computing, atS125, of the index I for each tile (C_(i), R_(j)) in the TLL and obtainthe OID of each tile. Index I is computed using the formula specifiedsub-procedure “B” in FIG. 23C. The method further includes sending a“Get” request to the OSD, at S126, to retrieve the Object 127 for thedesired tile (C_(i), R_(j)). The “Get” request is sent to the OSD eithersynchronously or asynchronously, using one or more software threads.

The method further includes determining whether all tiles ranging from(C_(tl), R_(tl)) to (C_(br), R_(br)) are processed, at S128, to verifyif requests to retrieve objects of all the tiles ranging from (C_(tl),R_(tl)) to (C_(br), R_(br)) have been issued to the OSD. If not, themethod repeats at S124, the computing at S125 and the sending of a getrequest at S126. If yes, i.e., if all tiles are processed, the methodcontinues to S129, by outputting the desired image header of image R′that contains the requested AOI and the tiles from image R′ that containthe requested AOI. The method then ends at S130.

FIG. 23C depicts sub-procedure “B”. Sub-procedure “B” is implemented bythe method to compute index I in the TLL for a tile (C₁, R_(j)) as shownin FIG. 23B. In sub-procedure B, C_(max) represents the maximum numberof columns of tiles in image R′. R_(max) is the maximum number of rowsof tiles in image R′. (C_(tl), R_(tl)) is the column and row number ofthe top left tile containing the requested AOI. (C_(br), R_(br)) is thecolumn and row number of the bottom right tile containing the requestedAOI. (C_(tl), R_(tl)) and (C_(br), R_(br)) are also shown in FIG. 22.The term RM indicates that the OIDs for all tiles in image R′ are storedin the image header in row-major order. The term CM indicates that theOIDs for all tiles in image R′ are stored in the image header incolumn-major order. A tile T_(ij) is any tile at column and row number(C_(i), R_(j)), where (C_(i), R_(j)) ranges from (C_(tl), R_(tl)) to(C_(br), R_(br)).

In FIG. 23C, the equations for computing various values that describepart of sub-procedure “B” have been represented using the syntax of theC-programming language. However, as it can be appreciated, any othersyntax of any other programming language can be used.C _(max)=(W % T _(w))?¹+(W/T _(w)):W/T _(w);R _(max)=(H % T _(h))?1+(H/T _(h)):H/T _(h),C _(tl) =X ₀ /T _(w);R _(tl) =Y ₀ /T _(h);C _(br)=(X ₀ +W _(a)−1)/T _(w);R _(br)=(Y ₀ +H _(a)−1)/T _(h);if (CM==TRUE) I=C _(i) *C _(max) +R _(j);if (RM==TRUE) I=R _(j) *R _(max) +C _(i)

FIG. 24A is a schematic diagram representing an example of a pluralityof images captured by a multi-sensor image capture system, each of theplurality of images are captured at substantially the same time, theplurality of images representing, in totality, a single larger image.FIG. 24B is a schematic diagram representing an example of amulti-sensor image capture system capturing more than one image, each atsubstantially the same time.

As shown in FIG. 24A and FIG. 24B, an image sensor or detector mayinclude multiple smaller sensors. The image detector produces one imageper sensor at substantially the same instant in time and thus provides aplurality or multiple smaller images (e.g., images 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and6). The multiple smaller images (e.g., images 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) canbe processed to obtain a single large WAMI frame. The images captured bysuch a multi-sensor system (e.g., images 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) are alsoreferred to as camera-space image data. Each image (image 1, image 2,etc.) also includes metadata (e.g., the identification of the sensorthat captured the image, the time the image was captured, the size ofthe image, etc.). The method and system for storage of each of theimages (e.g., images 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) and metadata captured by eachof the smaller sensors is the same as depicted for the one large imagedescribed in the above paragraphs. Each of the images numbered 1, 2, 3,4, 5 and 6 are not different in their general structure from the imageshown in FIG. 1, for example. In fact, as an example, the imagesnumbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 can be combined and ortho-rectified togenerate the image in FIG. 1. In one embodiment each of the pluralitysmaller images (e.g., images 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) can be ortho-rectifiedand then combined to form an ortho-rectified larger imager. In anotherembodiment, the plurality of smaller images can be combined to form anortho-rectified larger image. Either way, the methods and systemsdescribed above can be applied to the smaller images (e.g., images 1, 2,3, 4, 5 and 6) or larger image including the smaller images beforeortho-rectifying the image(s) or after ortho-rectifying the image(s).Each of the images numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 can be stored on an OSDusing the methods or system described herein in the above paragraphs.Therefore, in one embodiment, the methods and systems described hereinextend to include storing original camera-space image data and metadatacaptured by an image sensor or detector having, for example, one or moresmaller image sensors.

In some embodiments, programs for performing the methods in accordancewith embodiments of the invention can be embodied as program products ina computer such as a personal computer or server or in a distributedcomputing environment comprising a plurality of computers. The computermay include, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, ahandheld computing device such as a PDA, a tablet, etc. The computerprogram products may include a computer readable medium or storagemedium or media having instructions stored thereon used to program acomputer to perform the methods described above. Examples of suitablestorage medium or media include any type of disk including floppy disks,optical disks, DVDs, CD ROMs, magnetic optical disks, RAMs, EPROMs,EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, hard disk, flash card (e.g., a USBflash card), PCMCIA memory card, smart card, or other media.Alternatively, a portion or the whole computer program product can bedownloaded from a remote computer or server via a network such as theinternet, an ATM network, a wide area network (WAN) or a local areanetwork.

Stored on one or more of the computer readable media, the program mayinclude software for controlling both the hardware of a general purposeor specialized computer or processor. The software also enables thecomputer or processor to interact with a user via output devices such asa graphical user interface, head mounted display (HMD), etc. Thesoftware may also include, but is not limited to, device drivers,operating systems and user applications.

Alternatively, instead or in addition to implementing the methodsdescribed above as computer program product(s) (e.g., as softwareproducts) embodied in a computer, the method described above can beimplemented as hardware in which for example an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) or graphics processing unit or units (GPU) canbe designed to implement the method or methods of the present invention.

The various databases described herein may be, include, or interface to,for example, an Oracle™ relational database sold commercially by OracleCorporation. Other databases, such as Informix™, DB2 (Database 2) orother data storage, including file-based, or query formats, platforms,or resources such as OLAP (On Line Analytical Processing), SQL (StandardQuery Language), a SAN (storage area network), Microsoft Access™ orothers may also be used, incorporated, or accessed. The database maycomprise one or more such databases that reside in one or more physicaldevices and in one or more physical locations. The database may store aplurality of types of data and/or files and associated data or filedescriptions, administrative information, or any other data.

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram representing a computer system 200 forimplementing the methods, for example embodied as program products,according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.25, computer system 200 comprises a processor (e.g., one or moreprocessors) 202 and a memory 204 in communication with the processor202. The computer system 200 may further include an input device 206 forinputting data (such as keyboard, a mouse or the like) and an outputdevice 208 such as a display device for displaying results of thecomputation. Processor 202 may be configured to execute computer programmodules (e.g., software components or instructions) for implementing themethods.

As it can be appreciated from the above paragraphs, an aspect of anembodiment of the present invention is to provide a system (e.g., system200) of organizing data of a wide area motion imagery frame. The systemincludes a processor (e.g., processor 202) configured to: divide animage of a wide area motion imagery (WAMI) frame into a plurality oftiles, each tile in the plurality of tiles comprising a plurality ofpixels and having a pixel width and a pixel height; store the pluralityof tiles as objects in an object storage device (OSD), each objecthaving an object identifier (OID); collect object identifiers (OIDs) ofthe objects; and store the OIDs in the object storage device (OSD).

Another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide asystem (e.g., system 200) of retrieving objects that match a userdefined area of interest (AOI) from an image in a WAMI frame in a WAMIcollection, the image having one or more tiles, and the object beingstored in a reference file associated with the WAMI collectioncontaining the WAMI frame. The system includes a processor (e.g.,processor 202) configured to: receive a request for the AOI, the AOIbeing wholly located in the image, and the AOI having one or more tiles,the request including an origin and a pixel width and a pixel height ofthe AOI; compute a top row and a left column number of a tile thatcontains a top-left corner of the AOI and a bottom row and a rightcolumn number of a tile that contains a bottom-right corner of the AOI;compute for each column from the left column to the right column and foreach row from the top row to the bottom row, a tile index of each tilein the one or more tiles of the AOI, in a tile locator list to obtain anobject identifier (OD) corresponding to each tile; and send a request toan object storage device (OSD) containing a plurality of objects tilesof the WAMI frame to retrieve an object associated with each of the oneor more tiles of the AOI. In one embodiment, the processor may furtherbe configured to output an image header of the image that contains therequested AOI and tiles from the image that contains the requested AOI.

Although the various steps of the above method(s) are described in theabove paragraphs as occurring in a certain order, the presentapplication is not bound by the order in which the various steps occur.In fact, in alternative embodiments, the various steps can be executedin an order different from the order described above.

Although the invention has been described in detail for the purpose ofillustration based on what is currently considered to be the mostpractical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that suchdetail is solely for that purpose and that the invention is not limitedto the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to covermodifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit andscope of the appended claims. For example, it is to be understood thatthe present invention contemplates that, to the extent possible, one ormore features of any embodiment can be combined with one or morefeatures of any other embodiment.

Furthermore, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occurto those of skill in the art, it is not desired to limit the inventionto the exact construction and operation described herein. Accordingly,all suitable modifications and equivalents should be considered asfalling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of organizing data of an image of a widearea motion imagery, the method being implemented by a computer systemthat includes one or more processors configured to execute computerprogram modules, the method comprising: dividing, by the one or moreprocessors, an image of a wide area motion imagery (WAMI) into aplurality of tiles, the image having a pixel height and a pixel width,each tile in the plurality of tiles comprising a plurality of pixels andhaving a pixel width and a pixel height, the WAMI image comprising aplurality of WAMI images that are captured sequentially in time using animage capture device; dividing, by the one or more processors, a reducedresolution dataset (R-set) of the image into a plurality of R-set tiles,the R-set having a pixel width and a pixel height that is smaller thanthe pixel width and the pixel height of the image, and each R-set tilein the R-set comprising a plurality of pixels and having a pixel widthand a pixel height; storing, by the one or more processors, theplurality of tiles of the image as first tile objects in an objectstorage device (OSD) in communication with the one or more processors,each first tile object having a first object identifier (OID); storing,by the one or more processors, the plurality of R-set tiles of the R-setof the image as second tile objects in the OSD, each second tile objecthaving a second OID; collecting, by the one or more processors, firstOIDs of the first tile objects; collecting, by the one or moreprocessors, second OIDs of the second tile objects; adding the firstOIDs of the first tile objects to a first header of the image, the firstheader of the image containing information about the image; adding thesecond OIDs of the second tile objects to a second header of the R-set,the second header of the R-set comprising information about the R-set;storing the first header of the image as a first header object in theOSD, the first header object having a first header OID; and storing thesecond header of the R-set as a second R-set header object in the OSD,the second R-set header object having a second header OID.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising ortho-rectifying, by the one ormore processors, the WAMI image, the R-set of the image, or both.
 3. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein a pixel height and a pixel width ofa tile in the plurality of tiles of the WAMI image is substantially thesame as a pixel height and a pixel width of a tile in the plurality ofR-set tiles of the R-set.
 4. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: storing the first header OID and the second header OID in areference record; and prior to storing the first header OID, generating,by the one or more processors, the reference record in computer memory.5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: storing thefirst header OID and the second header OID in a reference record; andprior to storing the second header object identifier in the referencerecord, generating, by the one or more processors, the reference recordin computer memory.
 6. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: storing the first header OID and the second header OID in areference record; and repeating, by the one or more processors, storingthe first header OID in a reference record for each of the plurality ofWAMI images to obtain a plurality of reference records, each referencerecord being associated with a corresponding WAMI image.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 6, repeating, by the one or more processors, storingthe second header object identifier in the reference record for aplurality of plurality of R-sets, each WAMI image having at least oneR-set, to obtain a plurality of reference records, each reference recordbeing associated with a corresponding WAMI image and a correspondingR-set.
 8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising writing,by the one or more processors, the plurality of reference records intothe reference file on a traditional file system or to a reference filein a database.
 9. The method according to claim 8, repeating, by the oneor more processors, writing the plurality of reference records into thereference file for each of a plurality WAMI collections, each WAMIcollection having a plurality of WAMI images, to obtain a plurality ofreference files, each reference file being associated with acorresponding WAMI collection, and storing the plurality of referencefiles in the traditional file system or the database.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: storing the first header OIDand the second header OID in a reference record; and writing thereference record to a reference file on a traditional file system or ina database.
 11. A non-transitory computer program product comprising acomputer readable medium having instructions stored thereon whenexecuted by a computer system performs the method recited in claim 1.12. A system of organizing data of a wide area motion imagery, thesystem comprising: one or more processors configured to: divide an imageof a wide area motion imagery (WAMI) into a plurality of tiles, theimage having a pixel height and a pixel width, each tile in theplurality of tiles comprising a plurality of pixels and having a pixelwidth and a pixel height, the WAMI image comprising a plurality of WAMIimages that are captured sequentially in time using an image capturedevice; divide a reduced resolution datasets (R-set) of the image into aplurality of R-set tiles, the R-set having a pixel width and a pixelheight that is smaller than the pixel width and the pixel height of theimage, and each R-set tile in the plurality of R-set tiles comprising aplurality of pixels and having a pixel width and a pixel height; storethe plurality of tiles of the image as first tile objects in an objectstorage device (OSD) in communication with the one or more processors,each first tile object having a first object identifier (OID); store theplurality of R-set tiles of the R-set of the image as second tileobjects in the OSD, each second tile object having a second OID; collectfirst OIDs of the first tile objects; collect second OIDs of the secondtile objects; add the first OIDs of the first tile objects to a firstheader of the image, the first header of the image containinginformation about the image; add the second OIDs of the second tileobjects to a second header of the R-set of the image, the second headerof the R-set comprising information about the R-set; store the firstheader of the image as a first header object in the OSD, the firstheader object having a first header OID; and store the second header ofthe R-set as a second R-set header object in the OSD, the second R-setheader object having a second header OID.
 13. The system according toclaim 12, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: storethe first header OID and the second header OID in a reference record,wherein the one or more processors are configured to write the referencerecord to a reference file on a traditional file system or in adatabase.
 14. The system according to claim 12, wherein the one or moreprocessors are configured to ortho-rectify the image, the R-set of theimage, or both.
 15. The system according to claim 12, wherein the one ormore processors are configured to store metadata including a tilelocator list to indicate a position of a tile in the plurality of tilesof the image and a size of the tile in the image.
 16. The systemaccording to claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are configuredto: store the first header OID and the second header OID in a referencerecord, wherein the one or more processors are configured to generatethe reference record in computer memory prior to storing the firstheader OID.
 17. The system according to claim 12, wherein the WAMI imagecomprises a plurality of smaller images being captured by a plurality ofimage sensors of the image capture device substantially at the sametime.
 18. The system according to claim 12, wherein the WAMI image isone image in a plurality of images captured by a plurality of imagesensors of the image capture device substantially at the same time, theplurality of images being captured by the plurality of image sensorsforming a single larger image.
 19. A method of organizing data of animage of a wide area motion imagery, the method being implemented by acomputer system that includes one or more processors configured toexecute computer program modules, the method comprising: dividing, bythe one or more processors, an image of a wide area motion imagery(WAMI) into a plurality of tiles, the image having a pixel height and apixel width, each tile in the plurality of tiles comprising a pluralityof pixels and having a pixel width and a pixel height, the WAMI imagecomprising a plurality of WAMI images that are captured sequentially intime using an image capture device; dividing, by the one or moreprocessors, a reduced resolution dataset (R-set) of the image into aplurality of R-set tiles, the R-set having a pixel width and a pixelheight that is smaller than the pixel width and the pixel height of theimage, and each R-set tile in the R-set comprising a plurality of pixelsand having a pixel width and a pixel height; storing, by the one or moreprocessors, the plurality of tiles of the image as a plurality of firsttile objects in an object storage device (OSD) in communication with theone or more processors, each of the plurality of first tile objectshaving a first object identifier (OID) and each of the first OIDs beingdistinct from one another; and storing, by the one or more processors,the plurality of R-set tiles of the R-set of the image as a plurality ofsecond tile objects in the OSD, each of the plurality of second tileobjects having a second OID and each of the second OIDs being distinctfrom one another; collecting, by the one or more processors, the firstOIDs; adding the first OIDs to a first header of the image, the firstheader of the image containing information about the image; storing thefirst header of the image as a first header object in the OSD, the firstheader object having a first header OID; storing, separately from theOSD, the first header OID in a reference file of a traditional filesystem or in a database, wherein the first header OID identifies thefirst header object; and ortho-rectifying, by the one or moreprocessors, the WAMI image.
 20. The method according to claim 19,further comprising storing, by the one or more processors, metadataincluding a tile locator list to indicate a position of a tile in theplurality of tiles of the image and a size of the tile in the image. 21.The method according to claim 19, wherein the WAMI image comprises aplurality of smaller images being captured by a plurality of imagesensors of the image capture device substantially at the same time. 22.The method according to claim 21, further comprising ortho-rectifying,by the one or more processors, each of the plurality of smaller images.23. The method according to claim 19, wherein the WAMI image is oneimage in a plurality of images captured by a plurality of image sensorsof the image capture device substantially at the same time, theplurality of images being captured by the plurality of image sensorsforming a single larger image.